Storms and Bedtime Stories
by tehsecretardor
Summary: Once upon a time, they were being woken up because they were under attack. Nowadays, the world-saving duo is finding themselves facing a different kind of sleeplessness... [Haru x Elie, super fluffy]


Storms and Bedtime Stories

~x~

Summary: Once upon a time, they were being woken up because they were under attack. Nowadays, the world-saving duo is finding themselves facing a different kind of sleeplessness... [Haru x Elie, super fluffy]

~x~

"Mama?"

Elie stirred slightly, still holding on to the sleep. The call came again, and though the brunette was tired from the day, she knew that she would have to wake up for him eventually. Next to her, Haru slept with his mouth open, completely unaware of his son's little voice.

Still trying to force her body out of bed, the pitter-patter of little footsteps going down the hall alerted her that she was too late; he'd just come to her if she wasn't going to him. "Mama?" he said again, his silver blond hair visible even in the dark. "Mama, are you awake?"

"Yes baby," she mumbled, sitting up. "What's wrong?" As soon as the question had left her lips, a roll of thunder boomed around them, slow at first and picking up ferocity until the house shook, just a bit. Her first thought was to cuddle up to Haru, to clench her eyes shut and have him soothe away the bad memories, and the sadness they ensued. But she was a mother now, and her three year old was frightened by the thunder and asking for her, which meant that she would have to put on a brave face and be the soothing one tonight.

He held a teddy bear, hugging it close with his purple eyes wide with terror. "Oh, don't you worry about a thing," said Elie gently, offering him the closest she had to a reassuring smile. She got out of bed, not wishing to wake her husband up, and went to the boy, kneeling before him. "The thunder can't hurt you, it's just noise."

"It's scary!" cried the child, sniffling. _Ain't that the truth._ As if to prove him right, the entire room flashed blue-white with lightning. Levin gasped and ran into his mothers arms, oblivious to the way that she had immediately tensed up in her own fear. "Mama!"

Elie laughed shakily, trying to pretend that this was just another nightmare, that the storm was all part of his imagination that she could cuddle away. "Come on, let's go back to bed and Mommy will keep you safe," she said, scooping her son into her arms and carrying him back to his room.

"Will you lay with me, Mommy?" Levin asked as she tucked him into bed. Elie leaned down and kissed his forehead once before climbing in next to him, thankful that she and Haru had decided to get him a larger bed rather than a child-sized one. He cuddled up next to her, clutching the fabric of her pajama's tightly in his little fists. Elie wrapped her arms around him, gently running her hands through his hair. "I hate storms."

"Oh, they aren't that scary," replied his mother, trying to sound convincing. In comparison to some of the other things she had faced, they really weren't, but that didn't ease the pain that storms had caused her.

For a few minutes, the two of them simply laid quietly together, with Elie gently stroking his hair to help him through the storm. It didn't take long for Levin to fall asleep now that his mother was there to hold him, leaving Elie alone with the storm. She felt fifteen again, unaware of what was going on around her, unaware of what was coming for her.

_Sieg._

As it happened whenever she thought about him, her eyes began to burn with the sensation of tears, and she instinctively held her son closer to her, like a security blanket of some sort. It was such a tragedy that he would become so much more than an enemy only to be ripped from them.

"Elie?"

Unwilling to speak and wake Levin, Elie waited for him to check the bedroom. He appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, eyes alert as if he had been thrust awake from his dream. He took in the sight of his wife and son lying together and smiled fondly at them. "Are you okay?" he mouthed to her, eyes concerned.

"Sort of," she mouthed back, glancing down at the boy to see if he had stirred. He had not, and she very carefully extracted her arms from beneath his slim body, kissing his cheek once more before quietly exiting the room, leaving the door cracked open just the way he liked it. "I think he'll be out for the rest of the night," she whispered, standing with him to gaze down at their child.

For as long as Elie had known she loved Haru, she had been convinced that there was never going to be another human that she ever loved near as much as she loved him. How could she ever love anyone else? But, that was before Levin.

Haru gently wrapped an around her waist, kissing the back of her head. "Let's let him sleep," he said, nudging her with him. She followed, but only after one more kiss on Levin's head. Haru watched her with eyes glowing with love, taking her hand as they made their way back to their own bedroom. "I think the storm is calming down," he said, closing the door behind him. "Did you wake up because of the thunder, or did Levin come in here first?"

"Levin came in," she said with a shrug, sitting down on the edge of their bed. "He normally sleeps through them, I was a little surprised." Haru nodded, sitting next to her. "What woke you up?"

"Bad dream," he admitted with a short laugh. "I can't even remember what happened, now." Elie nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder. For a while, the two of them stayed like that silently, basking in their time together. Haru had gone to work as a law enforcer on the Island, mostly stopping petty crime here and there, and helping out with any carpentry in his spare time, while Elie typically stayed behind with Levin, usually too exhausted by the time that he came home to really stay and talk.

But Elie wouldn't trade it for the world.

"It's a little weird, huh?" said Haru suddenly, pulling away slightly to look at her fully. "Instead of being forcefully woken up by Demon Card or whatever, it's our son that keeps us up." Elie laughed a bit, nodding in understanding. "Sometimes I start to worry..."

The brunette leaned against him, enjoying the warmth his body gave her. "What do you worry about?" she asked softly, listening to the rain tapping against their roof.

Haru didn't respond immediately, but he tightened his grip of her and buried his head against her hair. "Sometimes I start worrying that this is all just a dream," he whispered. Elie felt his body trembling, but e allowed him to speak. "That I'm still stuck in Endless and this is just some big fantasy I came up for myself to cope with the loss while you and everyone else has moved on."

His voice was hoarse and shaky in a way that Elie hadn't heard in a long time. Quietly, she snuggled closer to him, one hand reaching up to run through his hair. "This isn't a dream," she whispered softly, pressing her forehead against his. "You're really here. With me, with our son." He didn't respond, but he did tighten his hold on her a little more, eyes clenched shut. "Haru, we're safe now," she continued, trying to soothe him. "All of us, the whole world."

"How can we know that?" he replied, fear and despair in every syllable. "We're out here on the most secluded island in the world. What if someone's trying to start Demon Card again? What if they found a way to make more Dark Bring?" he paused again, voice dropping low. "What if Lucia comes back? What if he tries to take you from me, or Levin?"

Elie smiled a little bit, kissing the top of his forehead. "Lucia is gone, Haru," she promised, gently stroking his hair. "All the Dark Bring shattered after Endless was defeated. Let, Julia, Belnika, and some of the others went around the world spreading the news, telling everyone what had happened. We did it."

The blond stayed silent again, but Elie felt his trembling increase and when she moved her head a little, she saw that her husband was crying. "I keep having these nightmares," he whispered, pressing his forehead against her neck like he always did when he was upset. "Sieg is there and he just keeps telling me that I failed, that I made him a promise and I couldn't...I couldn't keep you safe, Elie."

For a few moments, Elie simply held him, rubbing his back with one hand and gently running her fingers through his hair with the other one. "It's hard," she admitted with a sad smile. "We fought so hard, for so long and we...lost so much." Shiba. Sieg. Gale. Themselves, even. "It's weird, living a normal life now. Going shopping and not having to worry about whether we're spending too much, or whether or not Musica will eat what we make. My whole life has been to...serve. First, my King and country, and then I had to serve my role in defeating Endless. I never once thought that I'd make it to the point where I'm being woken in the middle of the night by a three year old son because _he's_ afraid of the storm."

Despite his tears, Elie heard him laugh a little at the irony. "And sometimes, you know, I kind of miss it. Traveling around the world, meeting all those wonderful people and making all those memories together," she continued, slowly feeling Haru calm down. "But then, you know –"

Before she could finish what she was saying, the pitter-patter of tiny feet cut her off, and she looked up to see her son had appeared in the doorway, clutching his teddy bear. "Can I sweep with you tonight, Mommy?" he asked, sniffling. Immediately, the parents separated and made space for him between them. He climbed up and into bed quickly, curling up next to his father. Haru smiled down at him and kissed the top of his head.

"Tell me a bed time story?"

Elie laughed. "I told you one earlier," she reminded him gently. "But alright, one more. And then you have to go to sleep." Levin grinned and promised to go right to sleep, one thumb in his mouth. "Haru?"

"Once upon a time," he started, pulling the blanket over his son. "There was a beautiful princess. The most beautiful princess in the whole world. She was smart and talented and kind, and everyone in the whole palace loved her."

"There was also a handsome knight. He was the strongest, most best knight in the whole world!" added Elie. "He won all the competitions and beat every bad guy that had ever come to their land."

"The knight and the princess were very good friends, and they spent all their time together, talking and playing and helping the people of the kingdom. Everyone around them said that they would get married, especially because the time was coming where the princess would have to choose her husband."

"One day, the knight was called away for duty. The princess was very sad to see him go, so she gave him her most favorite necklace and told him that she would always wait for him, no matter how long she would have to wait. When he had been gone just two weeks, the king posted an announcement saying that the princess would be choosing a husband, and everyone who thought they were worthy was invited to come and ask."

"All sorts of people came to ask for her hand, but the princess kept turning them all down. 'I am waiting for someone,' she kept saying, apologizing as they left the castle. Weeks passed, and still she would not choose a husband, much to the despair of the king. He begged with her every night to pick a husband, saying that it was the law."

"One day, an evil wizard came to the castle. He was so evil, even flowers wilted when he walked by them. He approached the castle and bowed before the king and the princess. 'O beautiful princess! I know that you have been waiting, and I have finally come!' he called."

"But the princess knew that he was evil, and she politely told him the same thing she told every other man. 'I waiting for someone,' she said. 'I will marry only him.' But this made the wizard very mad, for he was not used to being told that he couldn't have something. He was so angry, in fact, that he cast a terrible spell that made everyone in the room fall asleep. When they woke up, the princess was gone!"

"Desperately, the king called all of his best men to look for her, but try as they might, none of them could find where the wizard had taken her. Then, two weeks after she had gone missing, the knight came home."

"Immediately, he rushed to the castle and asked permission to visit the princess. When he heard the news, he fell to the ground and called to the heavens, 'O princess, do not fear! I am coming for you!' and took off again, following the directions of some of the other guards. When he got to the wizard's wicked castle, he marched right up to the gates and blasted them open with his great sword!"

"None of the guards could stop him, so soon he was in the wizard's throne room. The princess was there, put under an evil spell by the wizard that made her act like she loved him. But she was crying, because she didn't love him. When the knight saw her tears, he became even more angry, furious that someone could ever make his friend cry."

"He and the wizard battled for a long time, each one fighting for the beautiful princess. Though he almost lost, the knight proved to be better than the wizard, and when the fight was over, he was the only one standing."

"Having the wizard be defeated meant that the princess was freed from his magic, and she came running over to the knight to thank him. 'I have been waiting for you,' she told him, 'And now you have saved me. How can I ever repay you?'"

"The knight got down on one knee and told said these words to her: 'I love you, princess. I have always loved you, and I will love you for as long as I shall live. May I have your hand in marriage?'"

"The princess cried tears of joy, and the two returned to their home together to announce the good news. They were married the very next day, and the whole kingdom rejoiced."

"And they both lived happily ever after," whispered Elie and Haru together, looking into each other's eyes lovingly. Levin had fallen asleep halfway through the story, like they knew he would, and Haru gently leaned over him to kiss his wife.

"Thank you," he mouthed, laying down fully. Elie smiled at him and did the same, falling asleep not long after, listening to the sound of her son and her husband's breathing as she did so.

~x~

A/N: Hello everyone! This is actually something I started a while ago, I guess, and I just recently found it hiding on my laptop and thought that it was really cute and decided to finish it! So, yeah! I hope you all enjoyed it!


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